title: Drug delivery strategies for Alzheimer's disease treatment.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Current Alzheimer's disease (AD) therapy is based on the administration of the drugs donepezil, galantamine, rivastigmine and memantine. Until disease-modifying therapies become available, further research is needed to develop new drug delivery strategies to ensure ease of administration and treatment persistence.
  
  
  METHODS
  In addition to the conventional oral formulations, a variety of drug delivery strategies applied to the treatment of AD are reviewed in this paper, with a focus on strategies leading to simplified dosage regimens and to providing new pharmacological tools. Alternatives include extended release, orally disintegrating or sublingual formulations, intranasal or short- and long-acting intramuscular or transdermal forms, and nanotechnology-based delivery systems.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The advent of new research on molecular mechanisms of AD pathogenesis has outlined new strategies for therapeutic intervention; these include the stimulation of α-secretase cleavage, the inhibition of γ-secretase activity, the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, neuroprotection based on antioxidant therapy, the use of estrogens, NO synthetase inhibitors, and natural agents such as polyphenols. Unfortunately, these compounds might not help patients with end stage AD, but might hopefully slow or stop the disease process in its early stage. Nanotechnologies may prove to be a promising contribution in future AD drug delivery strategies, in particular drug carrier nano- or microsystems, which can limit the side effects of anti-Alzheimer drugs.
authors.affiliation: G d'Annunzio University, School of Pharmacy, Department of Drug Sciences, Via dei Vestini 31, 66100 Chieti, Italy. adistefano@unich.it
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Di Stefano
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Iannitelli
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Laserra
authors.forename: Piera
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sozio
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000517:prevention & control; D053829:Amyloid Precursor Protein Secretases / Q000378:metabolism*; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D004333:Drug Administration Routes; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D006801:Humans; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018697:Nootropic Agents / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D018697:Nootropic Agents; D053829:Amyloid Precursor Protein Secretases